A passenger lift for transporting a person up and down a stairway is known which comprises a platform displaceable along a guide extending along the stairway. The platform is secured to an endless conveyor element that passes over sprockets or wheels at the upper and lower ends of the guide. One of these sprockets is connected to a drive motor which can be operated from the platform and also by means of limit switches at the end of the guide for controlling the direction of travel of the platform along the stairway.
It is an occasional problem with such devices that the conveyor element breaks. When this happens the platform normally slides rapidly down to the bottom end of the guide. In particular if the breaking of transport element occurs immediately above the platform does this present a dangerous situation. The possibility of injury is aggravated by the fact that the person using such a lift is normally an invalid or handicapped.